Robert Magid, publisher of the AJN, has written yet again – in the lead opinion piece this week – about the inherent lawlessness of boat people and how keeping them out of Australia is a national priority.

On the bottom of the next page, Rabbi Raymond Apple is given a couple of hundred words in which to express the opposing view.

Last year, Magid wrote a piece about the contrast between the genuine Jewish refugees post-Holocaust and the asylum seekers of today who, he claims, are primarily economic migrants. The piece, titled, “Curb Your Compassion,” is available in PDF form here. (Hat tip to Marika Shoshana Stein for finding the link).

Do you feel that Robert Magid damages the community’s good name when he writes articles that are, in Michael Danby’s words, “not factually based,” and are widely reported as representative of a lack of Jewish compassion?

Do you believe Magid should be more circumspect in his writing?

Or do you believe he has been unfairly targeted by a media thoroughly unsympathetic to Australian Jewry?

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In other Australian Jewish News news, Rabbi Richie Moss tells a long story about cheese blintzes that somehow demonstrates the inauthentic nature of Reform Judaism.

Someone supposedly writing to R’ Moss for help about not feeling very Jewish, basically gets told by the Rabbi that attending a Reform synagogue was always going to lead to disaffection. R’ Moss implores the questioner to avoid, “cheap imitations,” of our religion.

Do you think it’s appropriate for rabbis to write about other denominations in this way? Do you think such pieces have a place in a newspaper that seeks to serve the whole community?

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Following on from our report last Friday on Shurat HaDin’s official complaint to the Human Rights Commission against Sydney University’s Jake Lynch for Lynch’s vocal support of the BDS campaign, The AJN reveals that Lynch is threatening to bring a defamation suit against Shurat HaDin for their assertion that Lynch’s actions are racist.

Do you think Shurat HaDin, an Israeli group, is right to take action here?

Do you think it will help Israel’s cause?

What impact – if any – do you think such action will have on the Australian Jewish community’s relationship with wider Australia?

By Anthony Frosh
The Community Security Group (CSG) performs an important function for the Jewish community. In the current state of global affairs, the role of the CSG has become more vital than ever. The vast …

Here’s what you need to read about before Shabbes….
1) Osher on moustaches
2) Timmy being awesome at Jewish Care
3) Women destroying the (rabbinic) joint
4) Yaron on paranoia
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1) From the inimitable Osher Gutnick:
‘I dropped in on mum on the …

By Alex Fein:
Hi all.
I’m back, taking over from Bracha, for another tour of duty as editor at this Melbourne Jewish institution.
Over the years, Galus has provided its readers with news, debate, and stories about Jewish …